Brightspeed vs. Viasat Internet Providers Compared

Brightspeed offers a very good deal on fiber internet with simple and straightforward pricing

One of Brightspeed’s real strengths is transparent pricing. Currently, there are no data caps, and no required contracts, which means you won’t get hidden fees popping up on your monthly bills as you will with many other ISPs. Brightspeed internet plan prices are excellent for fiber internet. The best part is that there are no surprise price hikes after promotional rates, which is standard practice with other providers. With Brightspeed Fiber, you can count on consistent pricing that gives you a lot of speed for a very attractive monthly cost. Brightspeed DSL pricing is not quite as good a deal because a DSL user’s internet speed and performance will be so much lower. But Brightspeed DSL may still be your best option if you have no other available cable or fiber providers in your area. Brightspeed is an active supporter of the federal Affordable Connectivity Program. If you qualify for the program, which offers payment assistance for lower-income households, Brightspeed will match your ACP payment assistance. This very unusual benefit will result in your internet service being free of charge or almost free.

Viasat offers a variety of price points and speeds to fit your budget

Viasat offers much higher speeds than its longtime competitor, HughesNet. While HughesNet only offers download speeds up to 25 Mbps, Viasat offers download speeds up to 150 Mbps in select areas. For the first-tier Viasat internet plan at 12 Mbps download speed, you will pay an introductory price of about $50/month.. For the 25 Mbps download/3 Mbps upload plan, you will start with a $70/month charge. These Viasat internet plan prices are comparable to HughesNet prices and cheaper than Starlink prices. Viasat features many more plan options than HughesNet, and much higher allowances for monthly high-speed data. All Viasat plans come with unlimited standard data, so you don’t have to worry about overage charges. And where HughesNet will only grant you up to 200 GB of monthly high-speed data, Viasat has plans that go up to 500 GB/month. To give you a rough idea of how much data that is, you can watch about 500 hours of HD movie streaming with 500 GB. The highest data plans from both HughesNet and Viasat will cost you more, of course. The 200 GB plan from HughesNet is $150/month. The 500 GB plan from Viasat is $300/month. But as you can see from comparing those prices, Viasat’s top plan gives you more for your dollar. And if you just really need a lot of high-speed data, Viasat is the clear choice. Be aware that like HughesNet, Viasat requires a two-year contract. If you cancel early, you will pay an early termination fee. You can get a no-contract plan for a non-refundable upfront payment of $500. Viasat has also launched plans called “Liberty” plans, which have free, unlimited data from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. “Choice” plans are on the way with a slightly different pricing structure as well, deploying as the new satellite begins service. So Viasat customers will have no shortage of options. You can type in your zip code here at CompareInternet.com to see details of all the Viasat plans available to you. If you work from home, you have a great new option from Viasat. Viasat Office Hours is an optional service that allows you to use standard work-related applications from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. local time without consuming any of your High-Speed plan data. You will be able to use Google, Office 365, Adobe programs, Sharepoint, Zoom, MS Teams, and many other popular applications. Viasat Office Hours is currently available for an additional $40/month, and many employers may be willing to reimburse you for the plan given its exclusive business focus. Office Hours is a pricing offer unique to Viasat, and could be a game changer for remote workers.

Brightspeed Fiber will offer premium gigabit speed and reliability, but DSL performance will vary

If Brightspeed Fiber is available in your area, you will be getting fiber’s well-known gigabit speeds as well as a fiber connection that doesn’t slow down or glitch. Brightspeed Fiber will equip you for any internet activities you like, including online gaming, videoconferencing, and HD streaming on multiple devices. Like most fiber connections, Brightspeed will give you symmetrical upload and download speeds—an amazing advance over previous technologies. If Brightspeed is still offering DSL in your area, your performance and speed will vary depending on your location. Your download speed and your upload speed with a DSL connection will be slower than with fiber internet. You also may have higher latency than you will with fiber or cable. You can check your actual speed with our internet speed test. In many areas where Brightspeed offers DSL, there is no fiber or cable option yet. So Brightspeed may still be your best bet. You can order DSL and look forward to your turn on Brightspeed’s fiber installation list. And with the rapid pace of their planned fiber expansion, you might be next!

Viasat delivers fast, reliable internet with ever-improving technology

Viasat recently launched the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite, which will increase bandwidth and speed for Viasat customers [4]. The Viasat fleet will continue to grow in 2023 and 2024, keeping Viasat at the head of the industry in geosynchronous satellite technology. You’ll get a solid, reliable internet connection from Viasat. Keep in mind that the military uses satellite internet for their operations. That’s because satellite internet survives in circumstances when cable or fiber internet might be out for days or weeks. Satellite internet can’t be harmed by an earthly accident, a weather catastrophe, or an attack on wired infrastructure. So in that sense, satellite internet is more reliable than wired internet. That’s why Viasat offers special “backup internet” plans for small businesses to minimize service disruption from outages. It’s true that heavy rain or snow can sometimes cause “rain fade,” which is a weakening or interruption in the satellite internet signal. But rain fade is only temporary. The one caveat about your Viasat internet speed is that your maximum speed will vary depending on where you live. Your plan options can vary from 12 Mbps to 150 Mbps download speed. That’s a wide range, but your speed may be better than DSL in many instances. Upload speeds from Viasat will remain consistent for all plans at about 3 Mbps.

Brightspeed offers advanced Wi-Fi in combo modem/router

If you order a Brightspeed Fiber plan, you will get free access to a premium Wi-Fi modem with Wi-Fi 6 technology. That advanced capability will give you 3 to 4 times faster connectivity. The modem will have greater data capacity and support extended battery life for in-home devices. (Your devices will need to be compatible with Wi-Fi 6 in order to perform at this higher level.) Modems that might come with your package would include the Actiontec C3000A, the Axon C4000, the Zyxel C4000, and the Zyxel C3000Z [3]. For some other Brightspeed plans, you may pay a $15/month equipment rental fee for your combo modem and router. Installation fees will also vary with your plan. You will get free installation for a DSL self-install or a technician installation of higher-speed fiber packages. A technician installation for DSL or a first-tier fiber plan will require a one-time $99 fee.

Viasat equipment: buy upfront or take option of monthly rental fee

If you want to buy your Viasat dish and modem/router upfront, it will cost you $299. That will save you some money if you don’t have to pay the monthly rental fee of $13 for two years. For customers whose credit scores qualify, installation is free. But all others will pay a $100 installation fee.

Brightspeed’s customer support begins well

Brightspeed receives 4 stars for Customer Service, with a promising beginning for a new company. Brightspeed provides a 24/7 chat interface for support as well as a helpline. The company also has a website with resources and FAQs to assist with simple questions. Some helpful features on the website include a troubleshooting & outage check, a tracker to tell you where your technician is, and a service appointment manager. A “quick bill pay” function will come in handy too. The Brightspeed Fiber network is very strong and is now producing a lot of customer satisfaction. With their rapid fiber buildout and commitment to customer service, we recommend Brightspeed as a good choice for your internet service, both now and for the future.

Viasat’s customer satisfaction average, but 24/7 customer support is strong

On many popular online review sites, Viasat tends to score slightly above average for customer satisfaction. When customers are not satisfied, their comments are often related to the innate differences of satellite technology. It’s true that satellite speeds cannot approach the speeds of cable or fiber. That’s why it’s not too surprising that Viasat has some customers online who are not happy that their speeds are not fast enough. But it’s hard to get a more objective read on overall customer satisfaction, because Viasat does not appear in the J.D. Power 2022 Survey of Residential Internet Service Customer Satisfaction. Viasat does provide extensive online and phone support, with live reps available 24/7 to help with any issues. The online resource library is clear and on target with common types of information that customers might need. Viasat also has a convenient online portal called My Viasat to manage any aspect of your service. My Viasat also works through an app that you can download on your smartphone. The EasyCare service may also be worth the $9/month you will pay to have all your service calls covered ($95), a dish relocation covered ($200), and premium customer support with the dedicated EasyCare line.